The government is set to finalise its Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the 2026‑27 fiscal year, giving education and health sectors the highest priority. The draft proposes a historic allocation of Tk83,127 crore for the two sectors combined.
Despite the record funding, past experience raises doubts over whether the money will translate into tangible results.
Experts warn that simply increasing allocations is not enough; the effectiveness of expenditure, the efficiency of project implementation, accountability, and the quality of services received by citizens will be the real tests.
According to them, the slow pace and frequent underperformance of ADP implementation is not a new issue. It reflects a long-standing structural weakness. Every year, substantial allocations are made, but delayed execution often forces cuts in the revised ADP.
They added that achieving the government’s development goals requires not just larger budgets, but also strengthened implementation capacity, governance, and accountability.
According to sources at the Ministry of Planning, the draft ADP will be presented at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on Monday for approval. The Planning Commission’s draft estimates the total ADP at around Tk3,08,925 crore.
Education is proposed to receive Tk47,591 crore, accounting for 15.86 per cent of the ADP, up from Tk28,557 crore in 2025-26 – a rise of nearly Tk19,000 crore in one year. Health is set to receive Tk35,536 crore, almost double the current fiscal year’s Tk18,148 crore, accounting for 11.84 per cent of the total ADP.
Experts say that achieving Bangladesh’s development goals requires significantly higher investment in education and health. Currently, the country spends less than 2 per cent of GDP on education, whereas experts suggest it should be at least 4 to 5 per cent.
Health expenditure remains under 1 per cent of GDP and needs to rise to 3 to 4 per cent.
However, they emphasise that increasing allocations alone is not enough. Funds must be spent at the right time, on the right projects, and with quality execution to make a real impact.
“Without ensuring value for money, even large allocations cannot deliver the intended development,” said Mustafa K Mujeri, former director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and ex-chief economist at Bangladesh Bank, speaking to TIMES of Bangladesh.
Mujeri highlighted field-level challenges, noting that many health centres have the infrastructure but are short of doctors, staff, and essential services. “Constructing buildings alone does not guarantee healthcare,” he said.
“Similarly, in education, the focus must be on improving the quality of spending, not just the quantity.”
The economist also pointed to a long-standing culture of waste, corruption, and inefficient expenditure in development projects. “Many projects include unnecessary components unrelated to their core objectives, creating opportunities for misallocation. Removing these extras is essential to make initiatives more results-oriented,” he added.
A review of the ADP of the past five fiscal years shows that allocations for the education and health sectors have fluctuated, while implementation has remained persistently weak. In many cases, funds were later cut in the revised ADP because ministries and agencies failed to implement projects on time.
In the 2024-25 fiscal year, the education sector received an allocation of Tk31,528 crore, while health was allocated Tk20,682 crore. The previous year, education received Tk28,129 crore and health Tk16,204 crore. In 2022-23, allocations stood at Tk29,874 crore for education and Tk15,851 crore for health.
Despite the rising allocations on paper, implementation performance has remained disappointing. According to Planning Commission sources, the health sector’s original allocation of Tk20,682 crore in 2024-25 was later reduced by Tk12,219 crore in the revised ADP. Similarly, Tk11,179 crore was cut from the education sector’s original allocation of Tk31,528 crore.
Data from the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division highlights the scale of the problem.
In 2022-23, the health sector managed to spend only Tk8,609 crore, while education expenditure stood at Tk14,172 crore. In 2023-24, health spending rose slightly to Tk9,189 crore, while education spending fell to Tk13,966 crore. In 2024-25, health sector expenditure dropped sharply to just Tk1,932 crore, compared with Tk13,185 crore spent in education.
Implementation has remained sluggish in the current 2025-26 fiscal year as well. During the first eight months of the fiscal year, from July to March, the education sector implemented only 30 to 33 per cent of its allocation, while the health sector’s implementation rate remained below 22 per cent.
